Applicators designed for various purposes to deliver liquid, gel, or the like are well known. Such applicators typically include a housing (i.e., a tube or reservoir body) that has at least an opening formed in one end thereof and a cap that can be secured to the housing to seal the opening by screwing, snapping or sliding the cap over an end of the housing with the opening formed therein to seal the applicator. Alternatively, known applicators may include a cap that is permanently fixed to a body of the applicator to aid in dispensing contents housed therein by depressing the cap and/or articulating the cap.
However, the designs of many existing applicators have several drawbacks. For example, known applicators allow for potential leakage and/or contamination and/or evaporation of the contents stored within the housing of an applicator, do not allow for a direct application of the contents housed within the applicator at a desired contact site, and/or are cumbersome to use. Additionally, many known applicator designs do not allow for all measured contents to be released from the housing. Commonly, this occurs because surfaces within the housing of the applicator are angled, prohibiting all of the contents stored therein from being dispensed therefrom. For example, at least one cavity may be formed upon puncturing the housing to create an opening or unsealing an opening formed in the body of a housing of an applicator, which in turn can result in trapping fluid within the body of the housing. It is important in many instances that all of the contents within the housing be dispensed therefrom. In the case of an animal, applicators regularly house a specific amount of medicament to apply as a measured dosage onto the skin of an animal and it is important that the full measured dosage is applied to the animal to ensure the medicament works as intended.
Additionally, for existing applicators in which a cap or other covering element must be broken (e.g., snapped) or cut to disassociate the cap or other covering element from the reservoir body, a region of the applicator where the cap or other covering element has been removed regularly forms a sharp edge. When the applicator comes in contact, as is commonly the case, with a surface (e.g., the skin of an animal), the sharp edge can cause damage or harm to the surface (e.g., irritate or cut the skin of an animal).
Further, in many instances, due to the design of a cap or other covering element for known applicators, when the cap or other covering element is removed or separated from a housing, the contents housed within the applicator can unexpectedly be dispensed from the applicator and can contact an undesired surface (e.g., hands of a human).